Stay up to date:Get a free personalized pregnancy and baby newsletter from What to Expect.com

Get your free personalized pregnancy and baby newsletter

or

I'm trying to conceive

I don’t live in the U.S.

First Time Mom

By clicking "SIGN UP," you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We will use your information to send you our newsletters, coupons and special offers, and we share your information with our partners

A High Dose of Folate Linked to Fewer Miscarriages [STUDY]

Trending With Moms

Summary:A folic acid supplement (available in all prenatal supplements) taken before and during pregnancy has already been found to prevent neural tube defects likespina bifida. Now, new research shows that taking a higher dose of folate before getting pregnant may help prevent miscarriage as well.

By Julie Revelant | Posted: June 5, 2014

Those prenatal vitamins are hard to swallow and might upset your stomach, but taking folate or folic acid before you're pregnant and particularly during the first three months of pregnancy is important because it lowers the chances of having a baby with neural tube defects like spina bifida.

Now, new research shows taking folic acid provides even more benefits — especially when taken pre-pregnancy. The study, which was released today and appears in the July issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, finds that women who took a higher dose of folic acid before getting pregnant were less likely to have a miscarriage (defined in this study as loss before week 20 of pregnancy).

The study looked at the Nurses' Health Study II, which included female nurses who were pregnant between 1992 and 2009 and had no history of pregnancy loss. Of 11,072 women and 15,950 pregnancies, 17.3 percent ended in miscarriage and .08 percent in stillbirth.

Participating women reported how often they ate folate-rich foods like dark green leafy vegetables, beans and legumes. They also reported whether they took a multivitamin and/or folic acid supplement and, if so, the brand, dose and how often they took it. After adjusting for caloric intake, maternal age, BMI, physical activity, history of infertility, marital status and race, the researchers found women who consumed more than 730 micrograms of folic acid a day before getting pregnant were 20 percent less likely to experience a miscarriage than women who didn't take a supplement. Researchers say this effect was primarily due to taking a folic acid supplement, not foods the women ate.

While about 50 percent of miscarriages are the result of chromosomal abnormalities, the other half are related to environmental factors, say the researchers. And while it's not entirely clear why folic acid affects the risk for miscarriage, the researchers point to a few reasons. Studies show that folate deficiency may cause problems in the embryo and be a risk factor for placental abruption and preeclampsia, which may in turn increase the risk for miscarriage. What's more, low folate levels can increase the chances of neural tube defects, and these pregnancies are more likely to end in miscarriage and stillbirth anyway.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all women of childbearing age — whether they plan to become pregnant or not — take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. This is particularly important given that 50 percent of all pregnancies are unplanned in the U.S., and taking a folic acid supplement can protect your baby before you even know you're pregnant.

The bottom line: A daily high dose of folic acid is proven to prevent neural tube defects and, if started before pregnancy, may also lower your risk for miscarriage. These days any prenatal vitamin you buy should contain at least 400 micrograms of folic acid, which, in combination with a healthy diet (including folate-rich foods like legumes, dark leafy greens and fortified cereal and bread) covers all your bases. If you're concerned your dose isn't high enough, talk to your doctor at your next visit.

Download our AppPregnancy & Baby

More

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advise, diagnosis or treatment, or in a place of therapy or medical care. User of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy.

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about your
visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here